Chill Out and Make Some Fromage Fort

Commandment VII: Thou Shall Chill Out

Life is too short for stress, although I’ve been feeling a lot of it lately. There’s always a reason to feel stressed out—while some are more valid than others, the only thing that matters is dealing with it in a constructive way. One of the ways I find relief is by walking away and treating myself to a little taste of paradise. There is nothing like a bite of something delicious to really make me step back and refocus. I never feel more present than when I’m devoting my entire self to enjoying a meal – especially if it’s a cheesy one.

I’m going to admit something really sick and twisted: I sometimes get stressed out from having too much cheese. That seems like a really good problem to have, and it is, but I’m only one person who can only eat so much cheese (click here to learn how much you should actually eat in one day). Cheese is living food item, which means it’s also dying. Those yummy little cheese nubbins that accumulate in the back of your deli drawer are facing their impending death. It’s our responsibility as warmhearted cheese-loving people to enjoy all those tasty orphans of cheese plates past while they’re still living and breathing. The easiest, least stressful way to do that is to gather all those nubbins up and turn them into a delicious, creamy spread called fromage fort.

You can use any good artisan cheese leftover in your fridge. This batch was made with various cheeses gifted from creameries to me around Christmas time, as well as a few that Katie Potts (of Petoskey Cheese) brought me last time she was in town: a wedge of Taleggio, a heel of Bermuda Triangle from Cypress Grove, a bit of truffled goat brie from Montchevre, and classic cheddar from Kerrygold in Ireland. Make sure not to use anything that smells too off, but rather choose cheese that you’d still eat by itself. I cut off most of the rinds, as they showed signs of overly ripe cheeses (death’s first caress). You can leave the rinds on if you are really craving some extra funk – it’s called fromage fort for a reason.

Eat it on crackers or smear it on to bread for a particularly goopy grilled cheese. Chill out and enjoy.

Fromage Fort

Ingredients //

8 ounces cheese of your choice

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted grass-fed butter, room-temperature

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons bright white wine

Anything else you want to add for flavor – I like minced fresh herbs, lemon zest, and freshly ground pepper.

Equipment //

Food Processor

Cut off any tough rinds and any areas with excessive discoloration or mold. Grate any hard cheeses, such as parmesan, and chop the rest into 1/2 inch chunks.

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. Chill for an hour for a firmer consistency. Enjoy on crackers, dressings, dips, or in a grilled cheese. Keeps up to a week.